Last week, I attempted to do a reset at the closer position, with tiered rankings that would give you a sense of where we stand as we approach the season’s midpoint. But then Kelvin Herrera got traded into a set-up role, and Jeurys Familia returned from the disabled list with little advanced warning. Plus, Hunter Strickland broke his hand punching a door in frustration, and Brandon Morrow somehow injured himself while taking off his pants.

You can’t make this stuff up. So much for the best-laid plans, but we persevere here at the Closer Report! Here are this week’s rankings.

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Big Movers

Arodys Vizcaino
Vizcaino sometimes struggles a bit with walks, and you get the feeling that the Braves are constantly considering replacing him in the ninth inning. But the bottom line is that we are now nearly halfway through the season, and Vizcaino has 15 saves and a 1.82 ERA for a first-place team. Most of the closers in the 10-20 range are now either hurt or suffering through some bad outings, so Vizcaino deserves to head the middle tier of closers even if he’ll always be looking over his shoulder a bit in terms of job security.

This is all assuming that Vizcaino is healthy himself. Speaking of Vizcaino looking over his shoulder, he missed Friday’s game with a sore shoulder, but manager Brian Snitker is hopeful he’ll be available on Saturday. Arm injuries are always at least a little concerning, so if Vizcaino’s ailment turns into something more severe, it could be time to pick up Dan Winkler and/or A.J. Minter. Winkler was given the save chance on Friday but blew it in ugly fashion.

The Cubs
The circumstances of Morrow’s injury are absurd, and by most accounts, he shouldn’t be out very long. But back injuries are no laughing matter — just ask Clayton Kershaw. Still, while I am going to go ahead and designate this situation as a committee, for now, I’m not going to bother moving the Cubs down in the rankings. Either Morrow will return quickly, or one of Chicago’s capable setup men will emerge as a valuable closer.

Those setup men, Pedro Strop and Steve Cishek, are both having excellent years and either would likely hold their own in the ninth if given the opportunity. Cishek has two saves this year compared to one for Strop, but it’s Strop who was generally pitching the eighth inning before Morrow’s injury. Anthony Bass pitched the final two innings of a 4-0 victory on Thursday, but Strop and Cishek each had pitched more than an inning the previous day.

If I had to pick one Cubs reliever to get the next save chance, I would ever-so-slightly lean towards Strop. But he and Cishek are both worth owning while we wait to see if Morrow’s back injury ends up being more significant than anticipated.

Jeurys Familia
There weren’t a lot of updates on the health of Familia’s shoulder while he was on the disabled list, but then we learned last Saturday that he would be activated on Sunday. Familia pitched the eighth inning in his first game back, with Robert Gsellman getting the save, but Familia was back in the ninth inning in a non-save situation on Wednesday.

Familia will likely see the Mets’ next save chance and should remain a mid-range closer option going forward. Unless he’s traded into a setup role, that is.

Wade Davis
At the beginning of June, Davis had some of the best numbers of any closer, with a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 18 saves. But nine earned runs in 6 2/3 innings later, Davis now has a bloated 4.55 ERA and 1.31 WHIP.

Davis is proven closer who had plenty of success with the Royals and Cubs before coming to Colorado, so his owners shouldn’t panic. But if you have a chance to add Adam Ottavino as insurance, it might not be a bad idea, particularly given the otherworldly strikeouts and ratios that he can provide.

The Giants
The circumstances of Strickland’s injury were more common than Morrow’s, but the resulting damage was also much more severe. Strickland will miss six-to-eight weeks with a broken hand, and he also may have given the Giants the excuse they were looking for to reinstall Mark Melancon in the ninth inning.

Bruce Bochy initially said that Sam Dyson would close in Strickland’s absence, but Dyson was hit hard and pulled from a save opportunity on Wednesday. With Dyson likely unavailable after pitching in three straight games, Melancon closed out the Giants’ victory on Thursday. Who gets the next opportunity is anybody’s guess.

As I’ve discussed before, Melancon’s contract is an albatross that the Giants would surely love to shed, especially with Strickland’s emergence. So while Dyson is still in the saves conversation, for now, it seemingly makes sense for Bochy to eventually put Melancon back in the closer role to boost his trade value. And if the Giants aren’t able to find a taker for Melancon’s contract, it’s not unfathomable that Melancon ends up closing out games for the rest of the season, relegating Strickland to a set-up role upon his return.

The Royals
With Kelvin Herrera dealt to Washington, the Royals now possess the worst bullpen in baseball. This is a team that won’t win many games and doesn’t have any pitchers who can really help you in terms of ratios or strikeouts, either.

The conventional wisdom was that Kevin McCarthy would be the next man up in the ninth, but he pitched in the seventh inning of a scoreless game on Friday, with lefty specialist Tim Hill eventually earning the save in a 1-0 victory. Given the lack of quality arms in this bullpen, the lack of clarity on who will close, and the lack of projected save chances for the Royals as a team, I would steer clear of this quagmire in all but the deepest, most save-desperate leagues.

Random Musings

Ryan Tepera
We finally got clarity on Roberto Osuna’s status on Friday. He will be suspended for 75 games retroactive to May 8, which means he will be available to return on August 4. The Blue Jays could be all-but-eliminated from the playoff hunt by then, so it’s hard to know how they’ll play this situation. Tepera has held his own in the ninth during Osuna’s absence, but Tepera could end up being trade bait at the deadline.

If you play in a league where saves are critical, and you’ve held Osuna until now, you might as well try to keep holding him in the hope you get six weeks of save chances down the stretch. Just know there’s no guarantee that he regains the closer job this year.

The Orioles
Ok, so I might have been a little premature in anointing Zach Britton as the closer in Baltimore. Britton had been pitching great since returning from a ruptured Achilles, but when he finally received his first save chance on Friday night, he was utterly annihilated (four earned runs in 1/3 of an inning). Meanwhile, Brad Brach continues to look shaky himself, but before Friday, Buck Showalter had been trotting him out there on the rare occasions that the Orioles had a ninth-inning lead.

Britton is still the reliever I would most want to own in this bullpen because he has the most ability and should eventually settle into the closer role unless/until he’s traded. But it’s tough to predict who will see the next save chance that arises — it could even be Darren O’Day.

The Angels
Some of these situations could be written up every week. Is there ever a time when there isn’t uncertainty in Mike Scioscia’s bullpen?

Blake Parker put up four saves in quick succession during June 4 – 9, and looked to be establishing himself as the man in Anaheim. But Parker has given up five earned runs over his last three appearances, and it was Justin Anderson who was called upon to close on Thursday night, even though Parker was presumably available. Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher called Anderson’s save “noteworthy,” as Closer Monkey noted. But then Parker returned to earn the next save on Friday.

I’d be lying if I told you I know what will happen next in this bullpen, but for now, both Parker and Anderson are worth rostering in leagues in which saves are scarce, and every closer is owned.

Sergio Romo
I still don’t have a lot of faith in Romo at this stage of his career, but he does look to be the Rays’ closer at the moment. Perhaps he can manage some Ziegler-esque value in leagues where saves are vital, but he will likely be glued to the bottom five spots in the rankings unless he proves he can still perform like he did in his prime.

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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.